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Greening Humanitarian Aid: A case study on environmental mainstreaming in the Minawao Refugee Camp in Cameroon

Majewski, Rebecca LU (2022) STVK12 20221
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This thesis is a qualitative case study on greening policies in the Minawao
Refugee Camp in far-northern Cameroon. It thoroughly investigates the actors and
dynamics of humanitarian aid and specifically explores how environmental
mainstreaming can shape humanitarian governance.
The case was chosen due to its unique policies and programmes that aim to green
the refugee camp and use a participatory approach to tackle the challenges.
The concepts used throughout the thesis are humanitarian governance including
both politicisation and de-politicisation aspects as well as clusterisation. A
particular focus is placed on environmental mainstreaming.
In addition, the humanitarian-development-peace nexus which plays an
increasingly... (More)
This thesis is a qualitative case study on greening policies in the Minawao
Refugee Camp in far-northern Cameroon. It thoroughly investigates the actors and
dynamics of humanitarian aid and specifically explores how environmental
mainstreaming can shape humanitarian governance.
The case was chosen due to its unique policies and programmes that aim to green
the refugee camp and use a participatory approach to tackle the challenges.
The concepts used throughout the thesis are humanitarian governance including
both politicisation and de-politicisation aspects as well as clusterisation. A
particular focus is placed on environmental mainstreaming.
In addition, the humanitarian-development-peace nexus which plays an
increasingly important role in shaping humanitarian aid is introduced and
discussed.
The theoretical framework is built upon these three concepts, humanitarian
governance, environmental mainstreaming, and the humanitarian-developmentpeace nexus, as well as the dynamics between each other.
A flexible qualitative research design is applied, using mixed methods for the data
collection consisting of expert interviews and secondary data from reports and
media. The collected data was coded and analysed using the “thematic analysis”
method. The findings are divided in politicisation, de-politicisation, and
clusterisation themes.
The research confirms that environmental mainstreaming requires long-term
planning, while humanitarian governance remains focused on immediate response
to save lives and alleviate human suffering. Power dynamics, funding issues, and
the involvement of governmental institutions lead frequently to disproportionate
politicisation of humanitarian aid. However, ownership, resilience, and
partnership help to de-politicise the process. Moreover, clusterisation allows for
better coordination and helps to interlink humanitarian aid, development
assistance, and environmental mainstreaming, leading to improved results and
outcomes for the beneficiaries.
The thesis shows that while environmental mainstreaming remains a significant
challenge to humanitarian governance, it is of crucial importance to both be
included in conceptual work and daily practice, and considered in further
research. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Majewski, Rebecca LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK12 20221
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
humanitarian governance, environmental mainstreaming, humanitarian-development-peace nexus, clusterisation, refugee camps, Cameroon.
language
English
id
9086658
date added to LUP
2022-07-03 08:51:09
date last changed
2022-07-03 08:51:09
@misc{9086658,
  abstract     = {{This thesis is a qualitative case study on greening policies in the Minawao 
Refugee Camp in far-northern Cameroon. It thoroughly investigates the actors and 
dynamics of humanitarian aid and specifically explores how environmental 
mainstreaming can shape humanitarian governance.
The case was chosen due to its unique policies and programmes that aim to green 
the refugee camp and use a participatory approach to tackle the challenges.
The concepts used throughout the thesis are humanitarian governance including 
both politicisation and de-politicisation aspects as well as clusterisation. A
particular focus is placed on environmental mainstreaming. 
In addition, the humanitarian-development-peace nexus which plays an
increasingly important role in shaping humanitarian aid is introduced and 
discussed. 
The theoretical framework is built upon these three concepts, humanitarian 
governance, environmental mainstreaming, and the humanitarian-developmentpeace nexus, as well as the dynamics between each other.
A flexible qualitative research design is applied, using mixed methods for the data 
collection consisting of expert interviews and secondary data from reports and 
media. The collected data was coded and analysed using the “thematic analysis” 
method. The findings are divided in politicisation, de-politicisation, and 
clusterisation themes.
The research confirms that environmental mainstreaming requires long-term 
planning, while humanitarian governance remains focused on immediate response 
to save lives and alleviate human suffering. Power dynamics, funding issues, and 
the involvement of governmental institutions lead frequently to disproportionate 
politicisation of humanitarian aid. However, ownership, resilience, and 
partnership help to de-politicise the process. Moreover, clusterisation allows for 
better coordination and helps to interlink humanitarian aid, development 
assistance, and environmental mainstreaming, leading to improved results and 
outcomes for the beneficiaries. 
The thesis shows that while environmental mainstreaming remains a significant 
challenge to humanitarian governance, it is of crucial importance to both be 
included in conceptual work and daily practice, and considered in further 
research.}},
  author       = {{Majewski, Rebecca}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Greening Humanitarian Aid: A case study on environmental mainstreaming in the Minawao Refugee Camp in Cameroon}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}